Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Exploring the Sawyer Family’s Origins on A24

In a world of franchises from superheroes to fantasy worlds, horror is one of the stranger genres to try and expand on, specifically slashers. Granted, franchises like Child’s Play have grown and evolved, but for the most part, expanding on franchises like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a tall order.

That said, the half-century-old horror series is one of the most unique, and with A24 acquiring the rights to it and promising both a movie and TV series in the works, it offers promise. For example, a new show can finally shine a light on just how the Sawyers came to be and why they’re so twisted.

A24 Can Finally Explore The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Sawyer Family

For all intents and purposes, the popularity of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre begins and ends with Leatherface. The iconic slasher movie villain has been the face of the franchise for decades and serves as a member of the Sawyer family who does the dirty work. From killing and cutting up the bodies to capturing them, Leatherface is the foundation of the family.

That said, there are more than a few others that deserve some love, too. From Drayton Sawyer, the resident chef of the family, to Grandpa, Nubbins, and Chop Top, there are many others who make up the seemingly endless clan. But from movies to games, they are never the focus.

With A24 bringing a TV show into the mix now, it finally seems like the time to understand the origins of the cannibal family and finally get a definitive look at why they are the way they are. For example, Grandpa is always described as the best killer of the family, and yet, he’s so old in the first movie that he’s essentially a corpse.

Seeing how Grandpa started the family business could be more than enough to entice viewers to understand what the Sawyers were like before the original film. Furthermore, it’s a chance to understand Leatherface with a proper origin tied to the main movies and maybe even explore the traumatic history of others, such as Chop Top, who was in Vietnam.

Of course, aside from the chance to expand the family beyond Leatherface, a Texas Chainsaw Massacre TV show is also a chance to better establish a canon timeline. For a franchise that is as loved as Friday the 13th, there’s a sparse amount of logic tied to the history of the Sawyers outside of Leatherface.

The Texaschain Saw Massacre Deserves Better Lore

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has had countless sequels and prequels over the years, and yet, after the game-changing sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part II, the lore was something that never mattered. The third and fourth entries were technically canon but just added more Sawyers without explanation. Meanwhile, the remake era offered a whole new history with a new family, the Hewitts.

2022’s divisive Texas Chainsaw Massacre managed to attempt to continue the lore by having Leatherface’s story continue after the events of the first film, but this only negated the second in the process. Since then, the only thing that has made the most sense has been how senseless the lore of the franchise actually is.

To that effect, A24 has a chance to not only offer up an ideal origin story for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but also a chance to give the franchise a proper foundation to build more lore on. If there’s any slasher franchise that has deserved a strong story, it’s been The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and now there is finally a chance for the Sawyers to get their due.

Created by

Kim Henkel, Tobe Hooper

Cast

Gunnar Hansen, Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow